The combinatorial synthesis of chemical libraries has created an enormous pool of possible new drug candidates. Indeed, synthetic capabilities have outstripped the ability to determine corresponding biological activity. An initial step in the resolution of this problem has been the development of microtiter plates which contain immobilized receptors/ antibodies. The use of these plates can rapidly reduce the number of possible candidates in a combinatorial pool from thousands to hundreds. However, assignment of relative activity within the reduced pool of compounds remains a slow and repetitive process.
The relationship between basic pharmacological processes and liquid chromatographic (LC) studies have been emphasized by the inclusion of biomolecules as active components of chromatographic systems. A wide variety of immobilized biopolymer-based LC stationary phases (BP-SPs) have been developed using proteins, enzymes, cellulose and amylose, macrocyclic antibodies and liposomes. Indeed, it has been demonstrated that the chromatographic retention and selectivity of BP-SPs are related to the properties of the non-immobilized biopolymer. For example, retention of a compound on an SP column containing immobilized human serum albumin has been used to evaluate the binding properties of the compounds to proteins.